ELLE.COM/UK September 2O19 87ELLEMood Board
THE CULOTTERY
From trailblazers
Celine to Margaret
Howell and Gucci,
they’re out in forceew garments are as unappealinglynamed as culottes. Sound it out.
Coo-lotts. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, does it? Neither do its
even more unfortunate synonyms: palazzo pants, gauchos or skorts.
In the pantheon of sartorial portmanteaus (shackets, treggings), the
divided skirt is one of the more polarising. Wardrobe Marmite. In the
eyes of some, it’s too non-committal — neither skirt nor trouser. Others
say it’s too dowdy. But, if you ask me, I’ve found them
largely unflattering and difficult to wear, combining
the most awkward elements of the midi skirt (that
wide, roomy shape) with the worst aspects of some
trousers (pleats and strange lengths that fall between
the knees and ankles). What to do with that stretch of
leg that shows underneath? With a skirt, any pair of
shoes or hosiery will do. Manolo courts withà pois
tights? Very Saint Laurent, very chic. But with the humble
skort? Your footwear choices shrink considerably.
As far as French-born garments go, culottes are all
bofsansfrisson. Shame. This season, though, they’ve
had an impressive rebrand. And, after several years spent gathering
dust in your grandmother’s attic, culottes are staging a comeback
of the highest fashion order. It started in March, with Hedi Slimane’s
sophomore collection as creative director of Celine, which the fashion
pack christened ‘new Celine’ (following Phoebe Philo’s decade-long
chapter at the house), even though the clothes were, in fact, a reimagining
of very old Céline — 197Os and 198Os, to be exact.There they were at the centre of it all: a pair of swooshy, swingy and
(yes!) pleated culottes in a Prince of Wales check, sitting on the
model Karo Laczkowska’s hips just so. Hedi had given culottes the
lead role in the first look out on the runway. Momentous placement.
The message was clear. The fashion pendulum has swung and
a new statement piece would now get star billing: the culotte.
Hedi drove the point home with no fewer than 27 looks featuring
culottes in all manner of styles and colourways. There were swishy
midi-length ones, slouchy denim ones and straight-legged ones that
stopped just below the knee. Some were made from leather, others
featured heritage prints. And, for evening: culottes in disco sequins.
All came paired with hallmarks of French bourgeoise style: silk
blouses, pussy-bow scarves, pie-crust tops, ladylike jackets, swingy
capes and tall, high-heeled boots. These were no American-style skorts.
I was intrigued. Full disclosure: I got my first pair of culottes as a
Girl Scout in primary school. The experience of wearing scratchy skorts
with itchy knee socks and loafers (in summer!) permanently put me
off. In my entire adult life, I’ve only ever owned one pair: an excellent
tailored version in pale grey wool, with ivory chiffon panels by Sacai.
Creative director Chitose Abe specialises in hybrid garments, so if
anyone could make a pair of culottes look and feel as easy and fluid
as a pair of silk pyjamas, she could. I happily wore them with flats and
men’s cashmere jumpers from Uniqlo during a month of ready-to-wear
shows in the autumn of 2O17 and never failed to get compliments.
Beyond this, I’ve steered clear of culottes because I’ve found it
difficult to find options that, as we editors often say, ‘look fashion’ and
feel fresh. This season, though, I have a pair by JW Anderson hanging
in my closet, ready to wear with a white men’s Brooks Brothers shirt
and tall Christian Dior boots, after being swayed.
Even the most staunch skeptics may be tempted by the wide range of
culottes on offer this year. For autumn, extroverts will love the sexy leather
versions at Jacquemus, while British eccentrics who favour heritage
checks will surely want the tailored, pleated iterations shown as part of
Gucci’s Princess Diana-style suiting. For the minimalists, Jil Sander has
them cuffed and oversized. And for fans of the 198Os: Chanel’s slimmer,
peg-leg version in pastel tweeds and primary-coloured leather.
It all amounts to the return of the grown-up charm of the bourgeoisie,
an idea that runs counter to fashion’s decade-long infatuation with the
millennial. The trend hasn’t come from nowhere. In fact,
Hedi Slimane’s French bourgeois muse is a close first
cousin to Britain’s Sloane Ranger, a woman who had
her moment last year when ever yone f rom Of f - White
to Balenciaga revived the codes of Britain’s middle
class through floral dresses and country tweeds. It’s
a prim and buttoned-up look, yes. And here it’s worth
noting that, like the Sloane, the Bourgeois had fallen
far out of style, viewed by fashion circles as dull and
conservative. But the new interpretations have bite.
‘Bourgeois style has been on the rise for several
seasons with the appointment of Natacha Ramsay-
Levi at Chloé, but the all-encompassing mood at Celine is really
the start,’ explains Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director
for Net-A - Porter, which has an especially robust category of culottes,
ranging from two-tone wide-leg denim options by Alexander McQueen
to graphic silk versions by Stella McCartney. ‘It has that retro, vintage
charm with a modern twist, which is inspiring so many designers
right now. We all want the old and archival in a new way!’“I GOT my FIRST
CULOT TES as
A GIRL SCOUT.
The SCRATCHY
SKORTS
PERMANENTLY
PUT me OFF ”F
Alberta FerrettiCélineEach x OtherCeline by
Hedi SlimaneCeline by Hedi Slimane